Published: March 14, 2022
An Edmonton Oilers mainstay of the 1980s, Craig MacTavish grew up playing pond hockey in London, Ontario, where he honed his skills and developed a love for the sport.
Hockey players at the 2022 Polar Pond Hockey tournament in Hay River.
Emily Blake/Cabin Radio
MacTavish’s route into the game may not exist much longer. As the climate changes, Canada’s ability to sustain outdoor hockey is measurably decreasing. (Environmental scientists even track conditions at hundreds of backyard rinks.)
“That’s how you get good,” MacTavish, now 63, said of outdoor makeshift rinks as he attended Hay River’s Polar Pond Hockey this past weekend.
“You’re handling the puck, you’re outdoors, there’s lots of camaraderie, lots of competition … It’s something really deeply rooted in the fabric of Canadians.”
The disappearance of outdoor rinks is of such concern in Canada that a program part-funded by the federal government, the Climate and Sport Initiative, has begun backing Save Pond Hockey events devoted to educating people about the climate crisis through sport. Though Polar Pond Hockey has existed in its own right for years, this year’s event also carried the Save Pond Hockey banner.
Bruce Dudley, representing the Climate and Sport Initiative, recalled a conversation with Wayne Gretzky about backyard rinks.
“He spent the entire time talking about when he was a kid and what it meant to him and his dad,” Dudley said.
“It was relationship-building, it was social skills-building and it was hockey skills-building.” 
MacTavish’s route into the game may not exist much longer. As the climate changes, Canada’s ability to sustain outdoor hockey is measurably decreasing. (Environmental scientists even track conditions at hundreds of backyard rinks.)
“That’s how you get good,” MacTavish, now 63, said of outdoor makeshift rinks as he attended Hay River’s Polar Pond Hockey this past weekend.
“You’re handling the puck, you’re outdoors, there’s lots of camaraderie, lots of competition … It’s something really deeply rooted in the fabric of Canadians.”
The disappearance of outdoor rinks is of such concern in Canada that a program part-funded by the federal government, the Climate and Sport Initiative, has begun backing Save Pond Hockey events devoted to educating people about the climate crisis through sport. Though Polar Pond Hockey has existed in its own right for years, this year’s event also carried the Save Pond Hockey banner.
Bruce Dudley, representing the Climate and Sport Initiative, recalled a conversation with Wayne Gretzky about backyard rinks.
“He spent the entire time talking about when he was a kid and what it meant to him and his dad,” Dudley said.
“It was relationship-building, it was social skills-building and it was hockey skills-building.”
Craig MacTavish in Hay River. Emily Blake/Cabin Radio
A Zamboni clears the ice at Polar Pond Hockey. Emily Blake/Cabin Radio
A photo posted to Facebook by Polar Pond Hockey organizers in March 2019, when warm weather melted the ice and forced the tournament’s abandonment.
Outdoor rinks occupy a nostalgic place in Canadian hearts. They look good. They are central to the nation’s winter-sports narrative. But Dudley argues they’re also community hubs that help kids whose families can’t afford access to other recreational sport, or who live in rural areas without facilities.
“We’re concerned that our children, or our children’s children, aren’t going to enjoy the same benefits from outdoor hockey that we did,” he said.
In Hay River, Polar Pond Hockey was cancelled by unseasonably warm weather in 2019. This year, the Arctic Energy Alliance – an NWT not-for-profit that helps residents and businesses reduce emissions and access clean-energy rebates – ran a climate and energy fair and hosted a tour of nearby energy projects.
“The North is going to see climate change first-hand,” said Terry Rowe, organizer of the tournament.
“Our water levels are rising from year to year. We had flooding last year in Old Town and it seems to be a normal thing where we don’t have clean water, because the water levels were too high.”
Save Pond Hockey began in Finland seven years ago and now coordinates pond hockey tournaments across the globe, donating a share of profits from each event to climate action.
Two other Save Pond Hockey tournaments scheduled for other parts of Canada earlier this year were cancelled because of Covid-19, making Hay River’s event the first to be held in the country.
Funds raised in Hay River will help to pay for an electric Zamboni at the town’s recreation centre.
Outdoor rinks occupy a nostalgic place in Canadian hearts. They look good. They are central to the nation’s winter-sports narrative. But Dudley argues they’re also community hubs that help kids whose families can’t afford access to other recreational sport, or who live in rural areas without facilities.
“We’re concerned that our children, or our children’s children, aren’t going to enjoy the same benefits from outdoor hockey that we did,” he said.
In Hay River, Polar Pond Hockey was cancelled by unseasonably warm weather in 2019. This year, the Arctic Energy Alliance – an NWT not-for-profit that helps residents and businesses reduce emissions and access clean-energy rebates – ran a climate and energy fair and hosted a tour of nearby energy projects.
“The North is going to see climate change first-hand,” said Terry Rowe, organizer of the tournament.
“Our water levels are rising from year to year. We had flooding last year in Old Town and it seems to be a normal thing where we don’t have clean water, because the water levels were too high.”
Save Pond Hockey began in Finland seven years ago and now coordinates pond hockey tournaments across the globe, donating a share of profits from each event to climate action.
Two other Save Pond Hockey tournaments scheduled for other parts of Canada earlier this year were cancelled because of Covid-19, making Hay River’s event the first to be held in the country.
Funds raised in Hay River will help to pay for an electric Zamboni at the town’s recreation centre.
From Helsinki to Hay River, N.W.T., a pond hockey tournament with a global goal
A pond hockey tournament that originated in Helsinki, Finland, raises money for organizations counteracting climate change. Its first Canadian iteration will take place in Hay River, N.W.T.
PETER MARTEN
SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAILPUBLISHED MARCH 13, 2022:format(jpeg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tgam/VVQPJCKRMZPLDKQS46J27US2DY.jpg)
From coast to coast, TO COAST, pond hockey is a winter tradition for Canadians.
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People play pond hockey at Vanier Park in Vancouver, after unseasonably cold temperatures caused the pond to freeze over in December 2021.
A pond hockey tournament that originated in Helsinki, Finland, raises money for organizations counteracting climate change. Its first Canadian iteration will take place in Hay River, N.W.T.
PETER MARTEN
SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAILPUBLISHED MARCH 13, 2022
From coast to coast, TO COAST, pond hockey is a winter tradition for Canadians.
NATHAN DENETTE/THE CANADIAN PRESS
It’s an inspiring scene: In Helsinki, Finland, on an ice sheet the size of a football field, nine different four-on-four hockey games are happening.
The sounds echo on a cold, sunny morning: the clack of sticks on pucks, the swish of skaters turning. From atop a mountain of plowed snow from a recent storm, you can see all the action. This is a Save Pond Hockey tournament, one of several in Finland this season.
Founded in 2015, the Save Pond Hockey concept sees its breakthrough in Canada this year, in a collaboration with the Polar Pond Hockey tournament in Hay River, N.W.T., with the finals on Sunday, March 13. The Canadian organization, like its Finnish counterpart, aims to raise money and awareness of the fight against climate change. Save Pond Hockey was already a Canadian-Finnish joint venture of sorts; the co-founders are Svante Suominen of Finland and Steve Baynes of Vancouver.
Back in 2011, Suominen was a university student in Helsinki. He’d played competitive hockey as a teenager, but eventually quit. Wanting to get some exercise, he now mobilized a few buddies to play shinny at an outdoor rink.
“I started inviting all my friends and friends of friends,” he said. “We went every Monday evening, and I realized there were more people coming all the time.”
He calls it “a new start for my relationship with hockey.” He enjoyed the easygoing atmosphere of pond hockey – a term for any informal outdoor hockey, whether or not it involves a lake.
“We had so many different types of people playing together,” he said. “There was something really magical about it.”
Baynes, a stay-at-home dad at the moment, arrived in Helsinki in 2012 after two years studying corporate sustainability in Jyväskylä, in central Finland. A former classmate invited him to join the Monday games.
The players used to discuss how climate change was shortening the outdoor hockey season. Baynes had studied climate issues, and some of the others also got interested. Many remembered longer, colder winters from their childhoods – it seemed obvious that winter was changing.
They started wondering how hockey players could help fight climate change. The result emerged in 2015, when they held the first Save Pond Hockey tournament in Helsinki, aiming to make some noise about climate issues.
:format(jpeg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tgam/3RPA5FZQEZE5DFIHBD4FNE64ME.jpg)
The President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, plays ice hockey at the Save Pond Hockey tournament in Helsinki, Finland on Feb. 15, 2020.MIKKO STIG/GETTY IMAGES
Participation has since multiplied and nine cities around the country have hosted tournaments. In 2022, the Helsinki edition boasted 39 teams in three divisions: casual, competitive and company.
The tournaments’ profits, a grand total of more than $101,000 dollars since 2015, go to organizations counteracting climate change – everything from carbon-offset programs to wetlands restoration projects.
To attract audiences and further boost climate awareness, each Save Pond Hockey tournament opens with an exhibition game featuring hockey heroes such as former NHL players and stars from the women’s and men’s national teams. Niklas Hagman and Esa Tikkanen played this year in Helsinki, and others have included Jari Kurri and Saku Koivu. Canadian embassy staff has also joined the exhibition games.
The president of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, has participated several times. In February, 2012, shortly after he was elected to his first term, he went skating at the rink where Suominen and his friends were playing their weekly shinny.
“I was like, what, is that the president?” said Suominen. “I just went over and asked, ‘Hey, Mr. President, would you like to join our game?’ He replied, ‘Yeah, okay. Let’s play.’”:format(jpeg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tgam/PGZBR4AMCVOMHPHO4FF7UOSZB4.JPG)
People play pond hockey on Brown's Inlet in Ottawa, on Christmas Day 2021.JUSTIN TANG/THE CANADIAN PRESS
When Save Pond Hockey held its first tournament, Suominen invited Niinistö, reminding him that they had played together. “I love living in a country and a city where that is possible,” said Suominen.
Baynes often refers to Save Pond Hockey as a movement. “Everybody’s welcome to come out and play,” he said.
Päivi Antila has been a regular at Save Pond Hockey’s Monday sessions ever since she happened to join one of their games last winter. “They’re a friendly bunch,” she said. “They consciously try to make people feel welcome.”
She’d seen them once at a climate demonstration, waving signs attached to hockey sticks, of course.
Another player is Paul Mélois, whose mother is from Montreal and whose father is French. He grew up in southern France but remembers skating outdoors during his family’s visits to Canada.
One January evening, Mélois could be found helping Baynes clear a rink on the sea ice beside the Finnish capital. Most outdoor rinks in Helsinki are artificially cooled, but during a long cold spell, connoisseurs venture out to make an all-natural playing surface.
After hours of shovelling, scraping and flooding, they finished the rink in the wee hours of the morning. About 20 friends came to play the next afternoon. “I could barely play because I was so sore [from the shovelling],” said Baynes, “but it was still super-fun.”
It’s an inspiring scene: In Helsinki, Finland, on an ice sheet the size of a football field, nine different four-on-four hockey games are happening.
The sounds echo on a cold, sunny morning: the clack of sticks on pucks, the swish of skaters turning. From atop a mountain of plowed snow from a recent storm, you can see all the action. This is a Save Pond Hockey tournament, one of several in Finland this season.
Founded in 2015, the Save Pond Hockey concept sees its breakthrough in Canada this year, in a collaboration with the Polar Pond Hockey tournament in Hay River, N.W.T., with the finals on Sunday, March 13. The Canadian organization, like its Finnish counterpart, aims to raise money and awareness of the fight against climate change. Save Pond Hockey was already a Canadian-Finnish joint venture of sorts; the co-founders are Svante Suominen of Finland and Steve Baynes of Vancouver.
Back in 2011, Suominen was a university student in Helsinki. He’d played competitive hockey as a teenager, but eventually quit. Wanting to get some exercise, he now mobilized a few buddies to play shinny at an outdoor rink.
“I started inviting all my friends and friends of friends,” he said. “We went every Monday evening, and I realized there were more people coming all the time.”
He calls it “a new start for my relationship with hockey.” He enjoyed the easygoing atmosphere of pond hockey – a term for any informal outdoor hockey, whether or not it involves a lake.
“We had so many different types of people playing together,” he said. “There was something really magical about it.”
Baynes, a stay-at-home dad at the moment, arrived in Helsinki in 2012 after two years studying corporate sustainability in Jyväskylä, in central Finland. A former classmate invited him to join the Monday games.
The players used to discuss how climate change was shortening the outdoor hockey season. Baynes had studied climate issues, and some of the others also got interested. Many remembered longer, colder winters from their childhoods – it seemed obvious that winter was changing.
They started wondering how hockey players could help fight climate change. The result emerged in 2015, when they held the first Save Pond Hockey tournament in Helsinki, aiming to make some noise about climate issues.
The President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, plays ice hockey at the Save Pond Hockey tournament in Helsinki, Finland on Feb. 15, 2020.MIKKO STIG/GETTY IMAGES
Participation has since multiplied and nine cities around the country have hosted tournaments. In 2022, the Helsinki edition boasted 39 teams in three divisions: casual, competitive and company.
The tournaments’ profits, a grand total of more than $101,000 dollars since 2015, go to organizations counteracting climate change – everything from carbon-offset programs to wetlands restoration projects.
To attract audiences and further boost climate awareness, each Save Pond Hockey tournament opens with an exhibition game featuring hockey heroes such as former NHL players and stars from the women’s and men’s national teams. Niklas Hagman and Esa Tikkanen played this year in Helsinki, and others have included Jari Kurri and Saku Koivu. Canadian embassy staff has also joined the exhibition games.
The president of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, has participated several times. In February, 2012, shortly after he was elected to his first term, he went skating at the rink where Suominen and his friends were playing their weekly shinny.
“I was like, what, is that the president?” said Suominen. “I just went over and asked, ‘Hey, Mr. President, would you like to join our game?’ He replied, ‘Yeah, okay. Let’s play.’”
People play pond hockey on Brown's Inlet in Ottawa, on Christmas Day 2021.JUSTIN TANG/THE CANADIAN PRESS
When Save Pond Hockey held its first tournament, Suominen invited Niinistö, reminding him that they had played together. “I love living in a country and a city where that is possible,” said Suominen.
Baynes often refers to Save Pond Hockey as a movement. “Everybody’s welcome to come out and play,” he said.
Päivi Antila has been a regular at Save Pond Hockey’s Monday sessions ever since she happened to join one of their games last winter. “They’re a friendly bunch,” she said. “They consciously try to make people feel welcome.”
She’d seen them once at a climate demonstration, waving signs attached to hockey sticks, of course.
Another player is Paul Mélois, whose mother is from Montreal and whose father is French. He grew up in southern France but remembers skating outdoors during his family’s visits to Canada.
One January evening, Mélois could be found helping Baynes clear a rink on the sea ice beside the Finnish capital. Most outdoor rinks in Helsinki are artificially cooled, but during a long cold spell, connoisseurs venture out to make an all-natural playing surface.
After hours of shovelling, scraping and flooding, they finished the rink in the wee hours of the morning. About 20 friends came to play the next afternoon. “I could barely play because I was so sore [from the shovelling],” said Baynes, “but it was still super-fun.”
People play pond hockey at Vanier Park in Vancouver, after unseasonably cold temperatures caused the pond to freeze over in December 2021.
DARRYL DYCK/THE CANADIAN PRESS
People crossing a nearby pedestrian bridge got a great view. Within a few days, the temperature fluctuated and the window of opportunity for playing on natural ice was over. “Those windows used to be much larger in the past,” said Baynes.
Hay River, N.W.T., the first Canadian location to hold a tournament connected with Save Pond Hockey, rarely experiences such challenges. The town first organized Polar Pond Hockey in 2008, but one year, 2019, was unseasonably warm, reaching 13 degrees in March. “We had to cancel the event,” said Terry Rowe, head of the Polar Pond Hockey organization, “which was obviously [due to] some sort of climate change.” This year he expects about 35 teams, ten of them in the women’s division.
Save Pond Hockey and Hay River connected through Canada’s Climate and Sport Initiative, which took applications from Canadian towns seeking to host Save Pond Hockey events. Penticton, B.C., and Stonewall, Man., were also slated for this winter, but had to cancel because of COVID-19 restrictions.
For Polar Pond Hockey, adding Save Pond Hockey to its event means greater emphasis on climate. Proceeds from an auction and a climate change and energy fair will help Hay River purchase an electric Zamboni.
Just like their Finnish counterparts, they’re holding an exhibition all-star game to raise awareness. The roster includes Meghan Agosta, Craig MacTavish, Andrew Ference and Curtis Glencross, along with locally known players.
People crossing a nearby pedestrian bridge got a great view. Within a few days, the temperature fluctuated and the window of opportunity for playing on natural ice was over. “Those windows used to be much larger in the past,” said Baynes.
Hay River, N.W.T., the first Canadian location to hold a tournament connected with Save Pond Hockey, rarely experiences such challenges. The town first organized Polar Pond Hockey in 2008, but one year, 2019, was unseasonably warm, reaching 13 degrees in March. “We had to cancel the event,” said Terry Rowe, head of the Polar Pond Hockey organization, “which was obviously [due to] some sort of climate change.” This year he expects about 35 teams, ten of them in the women’s division.
Save Pond Hockey and Hay River connected through Canada’s Climate and Sport Initiative, which took applications from Canadian towns seeking to host Save Pond Hockey events. Penticton, B.C., and Stonewall, Man., were also slated for this winter, but had to cancel because of COVID-19 restrictions.
For Polar Pond Hockey, adding Save Pond Hockey to its event means greater emphasis on climate. Proceeds from an auction and a climate change and energy fair will help Hay River purchase an electric Zamboni.
Just like their Finnish counterparts, they’re holding an exhibition all-star game to raise awareness. The roster includes Meghan Agosta, Craig MacTavish, Andrew Ference and Curtis Glencross, along with locally known players.
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